Create the World You Wish to See

No matter what world we create, it will never be a utopia. This is because the Earth we live on has given us a difficult problem. And that problem is that we have a lack of resources. There is not an infinite amount of anything in the world.

This means we are left to do one thing. And that is to divide our resources in a way that results in the best possible outcome. For centuries we have become better at doing it. We are seeing a decrease in poverty and also an increase in global wealth.

These are two great signs for humanity, but, we are seeing some worrying statistics too. One being that poverty may increase again due to climate change. With estimates of it doubling by 2032.

There is a balance to be found. We have enough resources, but how we allocate those resources is essential. We often find that many of the social justice issues present today are also a result of the misallocation of resources.

In one of my recent articles, creating a greener supply chain. I discussed making the strategy to combat climate change more individualistic. Meaning, we need to place more emphasis on the person. Rather than the product that the individual uses or produces. When we do this we allow for a paradigm shift to occur in the mind of the person.

Whilst taking a course on the circular economy by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. I came across design thinking. We see inequalities everywhere, and it is our choice to decide how we respond.

To do this, we choose between two mindsets. The first being the response mindset. People with this mindset respond only to the situation at hand. They have a focused view on the problem and patch up our current system.

The response mindset will deal with the gender pay gap by patching the current system up with new laws. This deals with the problem at face value and responds immediately.

The design mindset takes more into account when trying to deal with the problem. People with this mindset understand that problems occur due to poor design. So, they see past the immediate problem and broaden their scope to understand the system.

Design mindset thinkers believe that problems are not a result of our lack of resources. But a result of the design of our system. If we wish to create a better world. We must learn to apply this mindset to the problems we are trying to tackle in today’s world.

It takes longer to solve the problem. But it also ensures a solution whilst keeping us accountable for our decisions. Here is why the design mindset is so powerful and will lead to the creation of the world you wish to see.

Keeps Us Accountable

We all remember being in school and seeing a child blame something on someone else. It is not a coincidence that so many children do this. The feeling of shame and embarrassment is too much for them to take, so they pass it on to someone else.

The reality is, both children are to be held accountable for the decisions they have made. And this is often the solution from the teacher. If one child aggravated the other, they would get in trouble for that. And the child that responded in anger will also reap their consequence.

However, this is a rather sad and ineffective way to deal with problems. The response mindset leads to two people in trouble rather than one. All it has done is increase the shame and embarrassment of the situation.

It is the same when dealing with social justice issues. We go back and forth bickering with one another, looking for someone to blame. But the design mindset ensures that everyone holds equal accountability for the problem. Even though it does not always seem like this is possible.

Racism is an example of this. The idea that racism is present in the world because of bad people is a response mindset thought. The solution for the response minded is to point fingers at the policies which appear to be racist.

Now, I am not saying this is not necessary. I applaud those doing this type of work as it is an essential part of solving the problem. But a design mindset is so much more powerful when solving the problem.

The design mindset holds everyone accountable. It does this by letting us know that racism is due to poor design.

Due to poor economics, countries built a system that cared about exports only. This meant countries sought power and dominion because they believed trade weakened them. This led to justification for having slaves.

In particular, black slaves because of the benefit to the Western world. One massive benefit was sugar. And to the Caribbean, benefits included Western manufactured goods which were high quality. Such as clothing, machinery and weapons.

But of course, the Western world needed people to produce these goods, such as clothing. And this is where the trade of slaves occurred. So, setting up trade deals with weaker economies ensured their dominance. Leading to Black slaves becoming a more profitable business for the Western world.

Racism then became a justifying way to continue to sell black slaves. Despite many at the time knowing it was immoral. Racist phrases like, “Black people are closer to the monkey so are stronger”. Or “Black people are less intelligent so are only good for manual labour”. Kept slave masters feeling good about themselves.

Before then, slaves came from every ethnicity. But once trade deals were in place with the West Indies, black slaves became common because it was cheaper. And Racism became a means to justify the bad economics.

Bad economics reaped the problem of racism we have today. In other words, bad design of the economy. A design mindset ensures we deal with the reason why the problem exists. Even better, it holds us accountable for our bad design and allows us to learn from our mistakes.

Puts Us in Control of the Solution

The problem with having a response mindset is that it puts us in false control of the solution. We can not respond to a problem and create the perfect solution for it.

Take a fireman responding to a burning house as an example. The best outcome is to ensure that all people in danger make it out alive. But, the fire is going to take its due course. And unfortunately, the best solution is limited to the scope of the problem.

This is not to say that we can not generate a good solution, but our solution will no longer be in our control. The problem would be defining the best solution possible from our response.

The design mindset allows us to step outside of the scope of the problem and choose a solution. There is a disadvantage here. The design mindset is not as fast as the response mindset when solving a problem. It also requires much time and thought.

However, with the design mindset. We can create better solutions for the future with lessons learnt today. Design thinking is at the centre of the new circular economy. They are designing a better economic model to ensure sustainability is a result of better design. Rather than a product of their solution.

So, focussing on the solution of the problem puts us in the realm of the problem itself. But, design thinking lets us step outside of the problem and solve it from the outside. And we do this by creating a better design, which leads me to my last point.

Allows Us to Create

Design thinking forces us to think outside of the realms we have created for ourselves. The circular economy is an alternate design to the linear economy we have now. It ensures that the design of the economy leads to the best outcomes. And as a result, the effects of climate change will be reduced.

The response mindset allows us to create, but only within the realms of our problem. If we want to create a better world for all us, we must think outside of the tools and resources we have currently.

Many of the techniques we are using today to create better solutions are out of date. One example is highlighted in the book “Drive” by Daniel Pink.

In the book, he highlights that companies are still using old methods to motivate individuals. He calls this the “carrot and sticks” method. Companies are using bonuses and other extrinsic motivators to incentivise their workers.

Yet, science shows that humans perform better when they are intrinsically motivated. Because we are stuck in our ways. We seek an immediate response to demotivated individuals. As a result, organisations are still using these outdated tricks to motivate people.

This is one massive problem with the response mindset. It only allows us to create within the scope of the problem. And we are running out of solutions as the problems in the world get larger.

The design mindset ensures we think outside the box. From this, we can create better solutions for the world tomorrow.

Stop Putting Plasters on Our Current Model

Design thinking requires much patience. And unfortunately, many people in the world do not have that today. However, the world is moving too fast for us to be responsive creatures. By the time we respond to one problem, another problem has come about.

It is in our best interest to stop fixing the cracks and holes in our current world. And start thinking about how we can replace our current system with a new one. Things like the circular economy are challenging us to think in this way, and we can all play our part.

The first step is to hold yourself accountable for the problems. And we do this not by responding to the problems already present. But thinking about why our current design has caused those problems.

The second step is to take control of the solution. Do this by gathering lessons learnt from the current problems. And by thinking about how they can be implemented into your new design.

The final step is to think outside of the problem. Create a design to avoid the problem in a new system you create. Rather than patching up our current design.

Our current system has too many broken parts which need to be fixed. It’s time for a reset. And we reset it by design thinking. I challenge you today to start solving your problems in a design thinking way.